Part 1: "The Cluetrain Manifesto" and conversations

Do you still play "Quake"?
Yes. And as continued practicing improves my skills, the continued aging process removes them.

Do you think the presidential websites had an impact on this year's election and, if so, how?
The Republicans were apparently quite successful in raising money on their site. But, at least as important, political websites - like commercial ones - train people to expect to get complete and full information that just a few years ago would have required much more effort. Now, does having more information at your fingertips make you a more informed voter? Judging from the outcome, apparently not.

Tell us how you came to write "The Cluetrain Manifesto" with your other well-known co-authors?
The four authors had been talking via email and phone calls about why the media were, in our opinion, so wrong about the Web. We discovered that we agreed with one another in interesting ways, each approaching the issue from a different point of view. So we put up ClueTrain.com hoping to express some of what a lot of people on the Web were feeling.

What does it mean that "markets are conversations" and "businesses are conversations"?
The old business model says a market is the demographic slices you can reach by broadcasting to it. A market in this view is the lowest common denominator of statistical information. But markets used to be much more than this. They used to be places people went to shop, to talk, to exchange news. And now, thanks to the Web, markets are once again becoming real groups of people with real names and real voices.

We find one another on the Web and talk about the products that matter to us. Likewise, all of the real work of business is accomplished through conversations at meetings, in the hallways, over intranets. Constant talk.

Why doesn't it work on the Web for a business to talk in jingles?
Because we're not sitting there passively, waiting for the next show to come on. We're not captives.

What's the most important issue in marketing to your customers on the Web?
Ack. Just one? I'm having trouble deciding among "Tell the truth," "Let people talk in their own voice," "Drive out fear," "You're not the center of your customers' universe," and "Don't be a jerk."

Why are customers desperate for stories?
Because we want to understand, and the richest understanding is through stories. Stories show how events unfold, how the end is contained in the beginning. And stories are always told by a real person in her or his own voice. They're the opposite of the jingles you just mentioned.

How should the conversations that occur between business and customers via e-mail or the customer feedback page be viewed by a company?
Customers and their conversations aren't assets of the company. They're not owned by the company. But they're of tremendous value to the company. (These conversations don't only occur via email or feedback pages.) Customer conversations tell the truth about the company. They're passionate. And more and more, networked markets know more about the products than the company ever could. So, learning how to participate, as humans, in these conversations is of tremendous importance. The trick is that you have to really do it as a human, and not as a marketing 'droid dressed up like a human, or like a Marketing Professional out to manipulate the conversation.

Continued...